Glitter and Hate

Fully Withdrawn

"I'm glad to see that you're feeling better, Caleb." Mr. Mason gave him a look telling Caleb that he knew he hadn't been sick before the break.

"Yeah, the break really helped," Caleb said as he took his seat. For the first time in months, he wasn't the last one to get to class.

"I take it you gave yourself enough time to heal." Mr. Mason gave him a serious look and Caleb knew they weren't talking about a stomach bug.

"Yeah, I mean. I may not feel amazing but I feel a little better." He admitted honestly. After being in the house with Dyson for a week he had made the decision. He was going to move on. It was time and now that the string between him and Dyson was severed he could finally breathe again albeit in a different way. It was almost like he was scuba diving, he could breathe but it didn't exactly feel natural or long-lasting.

"Caleb, Coach is pissed. He told me that you quit the team." Adrian said and he sank into his seat and put his feet up on his desk.

"Adrian, we're not in your living room. Get your feet down!" Mr. Mason called over the voices that were getting louder in the room.

"Such a prick." Adrian groaned but dropped his feet down to the ground.

"He's not that bad." Caleb shrugged and smiled.

"You're not going to distract me. We're going to talk about what happened with the team? It's a joke right?" Adrian smacked Caleb's arm when he tried to ignore him.

"Come on, Caleb we just started the season. The scouts are coming to the game on Saturday and you're the one they're coming to see. Your parents are going to be pissed."

"They haven't seen me play since I was 12." Caleb snorted.

"Yeah, but they ask how it went."

"Oh, wow, they deserve an award," Caleb said bitterly and shook his head.

"Hey, they may not be there but you know they support you," Adrian said.

"Adrian, I literally haven't spoken to either of them more than two words in over a month. They wouldn't even bat an eye if I disappeared. Hell, they wouldn't even notice for months." Caleb knew it was true because over the last three months they hadn't even noticed that something was wrong with him or maybe that was normal. Did parents not see their children's pain?

"Caleb, you know that's not true." Adrian frowned. When Caleb shifted Adrian saw a mark on his wrist. Adrian felt a pang of terror and remorse. How had he missed how far his friend had fallen? Adrian knew that Caleb was upset and moody, but this was so much worse. He wasn't even sure if that was Caleb still. After the week at the house he had thought Caleb was on the mend, but now he saw that he was not ready to be fixed yet.

"Caleb, are you okay?" Adrian asked, touching his arm.

"Caleb, are you okay?" Dyson asked with true fear in his voice. "Caleb?"

"I-" Caleb tried to speak up but he couldn't. Everything was still so groggy. He felt like when he had woken up during his surgery to remove his wisdom teeth.

"Oh my God. What happened? Who did this?" Dyson grabbed Caleb's hands and tugged trying to pull him up into a sitting position. "Who did this, Caleb?"

"I-" Caleb stuttered again but still he couldn't get anything else out. It was like he was underwater. His arms were on fire.

"We need to get you cleaned up." Dyson stood up pulling Caleb with him. That's when he clearly saw where the blood was coming from. "Caleb,"

Dyson's voice was so full of sorrow that Caleb lost it. He dropped to the ground and Dyson had no strength to hold them up. He sank to the floor and wrapped Caleb in his arms.

"I will make them pay. Tell me who it was." Dyson whispered with such fire in his voice Caleb was surprised that he didn't feel the heat. But all he felt was cold as he passed out again.

"Caleb, why didn't you talk to me? I'm your friend. I can help you." Adrian asked, pulling him out of the nightmarish memory.

Caleb just looked at him with the sadness filling his eyes. Adrian felt like he was being stabbed in the chest from the overwhelming emotions. Was he that bad of a friend that he hadn't noticed or was Caleb just that good of an actor?

"Caleb," Adrian said, but he had no idea what else to say.

Caleb ignored him and let his walls rise up even higher so he could block out everything until the bell rang.

"Before you leave make sure to turn in your personal history assignments." Mr. Mason announced and Caleb didn't even feel a tiny bit guilty for not having his.

"Caleb," His dad said as he walked inside later that day. He didn't say anything as he kicked his shoes off. "We need to talk."

"I have a lot of homework," Caleb said through gritted teeth. Of course, this was the day that his dad decided to be present. All Caleb needed was silence; a serious break from everyone and everything. He had the strong urge to punch his dad and leave, but he knew that wasn't the right way to handle his emotions.

"What is it?" He asked his dad as he followed him to the kitchen.

"Your coach called." He said and Caleb groaned. That coach had ruined everything. Caleb knew his parents wouldn't have noticed.

"With all of my homework, I just don't have time for baseball," Caleb said pleading with the universe to let the conversation end there.

"Son, it's important to stay focused. I know it's your senior year, but schools are still watching you closely and the schools aren't going to want you if you're not playing. Your grades are great, but the scholarships you applied for are all attached to you playing baseball." His dad smiled. "I didn't raise a quitter. Ruth has to go to community college because she didn't apply herself. You need to be better than that."

"I know." Caleb bit his lip because he knew that his father had won. "I'll call the coach."

"Good. Practice starts March 24th, next Monday. Coach Reems will notify me if you cause any more trouble.

Weeks went by and he ignored everyone. He didn't miss any school or practice but he couldn't have explained a single thing he learned beyond the subject. Adrian kept inviting him to do things and every time Caleb came up with a new excuse until Adrian finally just stopped. When he saw Dyson it was for brief moments, very manageable.